When it comes to making sense of adolescent behavior, Dr. Dan Siegel is an expert on interpersonal neurobiology. I recommend reading his book to the parents and adolescents I work with.

Having spent my professional career specializing in working with teenagers, I have a unique passion for working with this age group. I have worked with teens since 1987 in county, educational, and private settings. I specialize in working with adolescents who have and/or are experiencing depression and anxiety.

In addition to my professional training and experience, I have raised two teenagers and I know first hand about power struggles, which enhances my ability to empathize with parents who are in the throes of it. I take a holistic approach when working with teens.

According to the American Psychological Association, the fact that the teenage brain is still growing came as a surprise to research scientists. Although they knew that the brain of a baby grew by over producing synapses, or connections, they had not known that there was a second period of over production. In a baby, the brain over produces brain cells (neurons) and connections between brain cells (synapses) and then starts pruning them back around the age of three. The process is much like the pruning of a tree. By cutting back weak branches, others flourish. The second wave of synapse formation described by Giedd showed a spurt of growth in the frontal cortex just before puberty (age 11 in girls, 12 in boys) and then a pruning back in adolescence. Even though the brain of a teenager between 13 and 18 is maturing, they are losing 1 percent of their gray matter every year. The teenage brain is not fully developed until around the age of 26. Learn more about how your teen's brain is a work in progress.